Knitting method



March 19, 1957v F1a. Z

J. P. CANAVAN KNITTING METHOD Filed April 22, 1954 .[/vI/EA/v'o Jois/H P. CANA ww United States Patent rvice KNITTING METHOD Joseph P. Canavan, Central Falls, R. I., assigner to Hemphill Company, Pawtucket, R. I., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 22, 1954, Serial No. 424,891 1 Claim. (Cl. 66-43) This invention relates to circular, independent needle, knitting machines. It has particular reference to solid color pattern hosiery fabrics and methods of knitting them.

In U. S. Patent No. 2,217,022, there is described a machine for knitting solid color pattern hosiery fabric. This machine knits a variety of patterns in a reciprocatory manner, and joins the pattern areas together by reciprocatorily knit sutures. The machine was designed primarily to produce the well-known vari-colored diamond type of Argyle stocking, and it has enjoyed great success in this field. Later modifications have made it possible to produce other patterns. These patterns, however, have been limited to various combinations of a plurality of patterns per course in every course of the pattern area. It has been impossible, without modifying the machine, to knit patterned courses separated by plain courses.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome this limitation and expand the patterning possibilities of solid color hosiery machines. This is accomplished by knitting, in a reciprocatory manner with a seam up the back, a tubular fabric having a succession of patterned courses separated by plain courses. The patterned courses are knit with a plurality of yarns While the plain courses are knit with a single yarn.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a stocking;

Figure 2 is a rear view of a section of the same stocking, showing a part of the seam up the back;

Figure 3 is a front view of the stocking, representing the fabric as though it had been split up the back and laid out fiat; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic presentation of part of the stocking showing the loop structure of the seam.

The stocking of Figure 1 has a leg portion 1 which consists of a number of diamonds 2, 3 and 4, separated by courses of plain fabric 5 and 6.

This stocking, except for the areas between the diamonds, may be knit by the method described in the above identified U. S. patent, i. e. with the cylinder reciprocating to and fro so that the needles knit adjacent `2,785,554 Patented Mar. 19, 1957 patterns with separate yarns at diierent. knitting stations, and the patterns are joined together by interknitting loops of adjacent pattern yarns. The area between the diamonds is also knit in a reciprocatory manner but with a single yarn 5a. A seam 7 is formed at the back of the stocking by knitting on the same needle (or few needles), a loop at the beginning and a loop at the end of each reciprocatory stroke. This results in twice as many loops in the seam wales as in the body wales (see Fig. 4). The knitting of such a seam is explained in more detail in Patent No. 2,217,022.

The patterned courses of the stocking shown are knit with the following distribution of yarns: A first yarn 6a knits the body area on one side of the seam 7; a second yarn knits the diamond 2, 3 or 4 on one side of the stocking; a third yarn knits the body portion at the front of the stocking; a fourth yarn knits the diamond 8 or 9, etc. on the other side of the stocking; and a fifth yarn 6b knits the body area on the other side of the seam. The seam is formed by knitting loops of the first and fifth yarn through each other on the same needle (or few needles). As shown in Figure 4, two loops of the first yarn 6a are knit on the seam needle, one for each direction of knitting; and then two loops of the fifth yarn 6b are similarly knit on the same seam needle. By seaming the plain courses and the pattern courses, all on the same needle, a continuous seam is formed in a straight line down the length of the stocking.

As explained above, the area between the diamonds is reciprocatorily knit with a single yarn. This may be a continued knitting with either the first or fifth yarns used in the pattern courses, or a separate sixth yarn.

U. S. Patent No. 2,217,022 which has been referred to in this specification describes, as its preferred ernbodiment, a two feed machine. This invention, however, is also applicable to other machines such as the single feed or four feed types.

I claim:

In a method of knitting on a circular, independent needle, knitting machine a stocking having a plurality of courses containing a pattern area followed by a plurality of courses of plain fabric and wherein said plain and said pattern courses are knit in a reciprocatory manner so as to form a continuous seam in a walewise direction the steps which include knitting said pattern courses with a plurality of yarns so that loops of one yarn are knit through loops of another yarn on the same needle to form part of said continuous seam, and knitting said plain courses with a single yarn so that one loop of said single yarn is knit through another loop of said single yarn on said same needle to form another part of said continuous seam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,120,419 Smith Dec. 8, 1914 2,217,022 Lawson et al. Oct. 8, 1940 2,680,961 Thurston June l5, 1954 

